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The
Kodiak City Council got an update on the City Manager Linda Freed’s plans for
the new Kodiak Police Station and Jail project at a work session Tuesday.
KMXT’s Casey Kelly has more.

The
latest roadblock for the project has been the skyrocketing cost of
construction, with the most recent estimate putting the overall price tag at
about 22.8 million dollars. Earlier this month the city council rejected
Freed’s proposal to raise the sales tax on alcohol to make up for about a
6-million dollar shortfall on the project.

The city manager’s
latest idea is to build the police station, but leave the jail portion
unfinished, until additional funds from the State of Alaska can be secured.

(City
Jail 1:17s“…roughly 18.5 million dollars.”)

The
city council has directed Freed to write a letter to the state asking for more
money to complete the jail portion of the project, since the city’s jail is a
regional facility that houses prisoners from multiple jurisdictions. Freed
reiterated that this wasn’t the way she preferred to complete the project, but
with the rising cost of construction affecting every aspect, she felt it was
the best way to proceed at this time.

(City
Jail 2:12s“…won’t come in any higher.”)

Once
the police station is built, and until funds can be secured to complete the
jail, Freed said the city could continue to operate the jail at the current
location for a period of time. But once that building becomes too rundown to
operate anymore, the city will be forced to use temporary holding cells in the
new station. The holding cells would be limited to arrests made by Kodiak
police officers. Freed added that there would be no holding cells for juvenile
offenders, and if the cells became overcrowded there would be a possibility
that some prisoners would be released to make room for more serious criminals.

(City
Jail 3:12s“…domestic violence requires
arrest.”)

The
city council was noncommittal with Freed’s plan. Members said they would look
at the completed design for the proposed police station, without the finished
jail, and decide then if it was worth putting out to bid. Freed said the plans
were about two weeks from being finished.